Judgment_paragraph 56 · Federica Maso and others and Graziano Gazzetta and others v Istituto nazionale della previdenza sociale (INPS) and Repubblica italiana (C-373/95)

56Article 4(3) of the Directive offers the Member States the option of setting a ceiling to the liability for employees' outstanding claims in order to avoid the payment of sums going beyond the social objective of the Directive. That objective consists, as was recalled in paragraph 50 of this judgment, in guaranteeing employees a minimum level of Community protection in the event of the employer's insolvency through payment of outstanding claims resulting from contracts of employment or employment relationships and covering remuneration relating to a specific period.